Yes, Ma'am!

"Gee, yeah, I've only heard that one a couple of hundred times."

Vic laughed then said, "Yeah. Cute girl. College senior."

"A date, huh? Must be nice."

"I'm sure she has a friend. You want me to ask?"

Josh looked at the flyer again then said, "Nah. Besides, the 10 o'clock show is too late for me."

"Whoa! Too late? Ten o'clock is too late? Are you shittin' me?" Vic said with a laugh.

"Sleep is a premium these days, my friend."

"Well, if you look, there's also an 8 o'clock show. You know, for children and seniors. Like you."

"Ha, ha," Josh said as he laid the flyer back down.

Vic came over and slapped his buddy on the back then said very seriously, "You want to me see if I can find a walker for you? Maybe get you a bed that inclines so you can get out of it a little easier in the mornings?"

"Yeah, yeah. Your turn's coming...buddy," Josh told him. "Battalion adjutant, Group adjutant. Or if you're really lucky, maybe a general's aide!"

"Uh-uh. Not me, man. I'm doing one more year and I'm gone."

"Hold on. You're gettin' out?" a very surprised Josh said. "I thought you loved the Marine Corps."

"I do. Or...I did. But seeing you, Mr. Tactical, pushing papers 14 hours a day then hearing about this dickhead colonel doing that shit to an officer in his own command and getting away with it? No, thanks. I can find a decent job on the outside. At least there I could hit the asshole back if he pulled something like that on me."

Unlike Josh, who had a BA in psychology, Vic had a BS in engineering, and it wouldn't be hard for him to find a well-paying job. Then again, if this was all Josh had to look forward to for the next 14 years or so, he'd might find himself considering bailing out, too.

For now, though, that wasn't an option. He was going to push through this yearlong sentence at the Group then get back to what he loved most—leading Marines. Or with any luck, he might get selected for AWS (Amphibious Warfare School), a plum reward for top-performing Marine captains. And so far, he'd been rated ahead of his peers on every fitness report he'd ever received with the exception of his very first one as a second lieutenant. So AWS was a distinct possibility unless the Group Commander torpedoed him on his next fitrep. (Fitness reports are the Army equivalent of OERs and NCOERs.)

The following morning Josh was surprised to see LtCol Strader's office empty and dark. He assumed she'd run into a bigger problem with her truck which was also missing from the parking lot. He was even more surprised when he found a handwritten note from her on a yellow sticky on his desk.

"Josh—thank you again for the lift! I'll be a couple of hours late this morning. The boss knows so just keep plugging on his project. See you soon."

It was signed XO which made him laugh when he thought of its other meaning: hugs and kisses. And that thought made him smile as his oft-visited fantasy of kissing her when he dropped her off at her house pleasantly came back to mind.

The truth was he'd actually used that very fantasy in the shower last night. Prior to his latest assignment, he might have had to 'take care of business himself' once every 2-3 months as the women he met took care of nearly all of those needs for him. But since being assigned to the Group staff, it was more like 4-5 times a month, and he hadn't even had time to try and find someone who could um, blow his mind, let alone anything else.

Josh soon gave up on his favorite new daydream and carefully went through the folders in his inbox and reprioritized them before checking his email to see if he had any taskers from the CO or other staff members. Finding none, he went back to the CO's personal project and finished it just as the XO walked in around 1000 or 10am to civilians.

"Morning ma'am," he said as soon as she stepped into the tri-office complex.

"Hey, Josh. Anything hot?" she asked, a pleasant smile on her pretty face.

The first thought that came to his mind was, "Other than you, ma'am?" but he kept that to himself and told her there wasn't. Her bright, baby-blue eyes was another feature he'd been focusing on after dropping her off at the house and seeing them from just inches away.

He followed her into her office then set the CO's pet project folder in her inbox that was piled high, letting her know what it was.

"Thanks. I'll take care of that as soon as I check email."

Unlike him, she had a half dozen emails from the CO that required action and another dozen or so from various unit commanders to their common boss on which she'd been CC'd. She worked through them one at a time until they were cleared then started proofing Josh's work.

An hour later she walked by and said, "You're getting pretty good at this, Captain."

She smiled then asked, "You want to take it into the boss personally?"

Josh didn't smile. He only asked whether or not she thought that was a good idea.

"I'm not a political animal, Josh. But things like face time with the boss are important. You did a nice job, and it would be to your advantage to give it to him personally. But I'm happy to let him know you did a bang-up job on it, so just let me know."

"Thank you, ma'am. I suppose I'll take it in myself then."

Josh tapped on the CO's door, got a terse, "Enter," then walked in and waited for further instructions.

"What is it, Captain?" he asked without looking up.

"Your project, sir. It's complete."

"I assume the XO reviewed it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Okay. Then set it in my inbox and clear the outbox on your way out."

"Aye, aye, sir," the adjutant said as he did exactly what he was told.

As he moved from the inbox to the outbox, he glanced at the man behind the desk and tried to imagine being on the receiving end of what happened to Lieutenant Negron, a solid platoon commander Josh knew fairly well. He also realized that for the first time he was afraid of a fellow Marine, a thought that troubled him every bit as much as the Negron incident.

When he exited the CO's office, Josh realized he'd been holding his breath and slowly exhaled before shaking his head and saying to himself, "That's just messed up."

He saw the XO look up at him and smile again.

"How'd it go?" she asked quietly.

"I just dropped it in his inbox, ma'am," Josh told her before changing the subject.

"Did you get things all squared away with your truck, ma'am?" he asked as he took one step inside her office.

"Oh, right. Yes. I needed a new battery and a new fuel pump. I've always been good about getting maintenance done, but not so much since moving up here to the Group."

Josh now fully understood the difficulty of getting anything done during normal working hours for many businesses then being too tired to care of it after that. He only nodded then told her he was glad she was able to get everything worked out.

"And thanks again, Josh. You were a real lifesaver," she told him, the beautiful smile still there.

"Anytime, ma'am," he replied before going back to his desk and diving into the stack of folders that had grown another inch since he got in at 0630.

By the weekend Josh was beat. Even so, out of habit, he was up at 0530 on Saturday, and as he sat in his favorite chair he felt exhausted in spite of not having really done anything all week. And physically speaking, he hadn't. It was all mental, and all of the mental stuff was paperwork. And yet he was mentally exhausted and glad Vic wasn't there to give him grief.

A long Saturday morning run in the cold, North Carolina air an hour later was refreshing and invigorating. Vic had been out partying until around 3am and was still sound asleep when Josh got back to the apartment around 0800 and still in bed when he started breakfast around 0900.

As he made himself something to eat, he looked at the flyer again and decided he'd go to the 8pm show just to get out of the house for awhile. Havelock, North Carolina, was a podunk town in between two larger towns in either direction called New Bern and Morehead City. Neither was much bigger than Havelock, but between the three of them there was usually something going on. It was often fairly lame, like a hypnotist, but it was better than sitting alone in the apartment watching TV. And it didn't hurt that the star of the show happened to be cute.

The cold front was late arriving and didn't pass through until around noon with a lot of wind and cold rain, and by the afternoon the temperature had dropped from a reasonable 52 degrees down to 36 by the time Josh got ready to go. Vic was already out with his co-ed, so Josh grabbed his leather jacket on the way out, and fired up the Jeep then waited for the heater to kick in about a mile down the road.

Due to the low cloud cover, it was really dark except for the lights along the road or those coming from any of the many mobile home parks on either side of the road where a lot of Marines lived, many of them married with kids. As he thought about trying to get by on what a corporal made and support a wife and a child or two, Josh felt guilty for whining about his own petty woes as an adjutant. He was still getting paid more than a gunnery sergeant with 16 years in the Marine Corps, and that helped him keep things in perspective. It didn't make his petty problems go away, it just helped him realize things could always be worse.

By the time he pulled into the parking lot of the theater where the show was taking place, he'd forgotten about his current miserable job and the SOB he and several hundred other Marines worked for, and found himself actually looking forward to the act.

The warmth inside the theater was a welcome relief as he went inside and looked around. It wasn't exactly packed with people, but there was a fairly decent crowd getting ready for the show to start. He looked around at the empty seats and saw one that looked pretty decent and started making his way toward it. But he hadn't gone ten steps toward it when he heard a familiar voice.

"Josh?"

He turned around and looked, but it took his brain a second or two to match the voice with the person who spoke.

"Colonel Strader?" he said more as a question than an acknowledgment.

In the months he'd known her he'd never once seen her out of uniform other than to go run at lunch, and even then her hair had always been worn up in a bun. Tonight it was worn down and looked amazing as it fell down framing her pretty face. It looked like soft, gold cornsilk with just a small turned-in curl at the bottom which fell halfway between her chin and shoulders. She wore a side part and had just a wisp of bangs that were feathered above her left eyebrow.

She was wearing a bit more makeup than he'd ever seen, and that, too, only added to her overall beauty. A very quick glance told him she was wearing a pair of jeans with a white blouse under a black sweater with a little silver chain around her neck that looked like tiny sausage links. Unlike the wooly pully, this one not only looked flattering on her, it was very pretty.

She smiled then looked to her left. For the first time, Josh realized she was with someone else as he saw another woman looking at him and smiling. She was about Colonel Strader's age, but not nearly as attractive.

"You must be Josh Kennedy," the woman said very pleasantly.

"Uh-oh. You know my name?" he replied with a smile of his own before adding, "ma'am."

The other woman laughed then said, "I do. And I'm not in the Marine Corps, so Millie is fine."

"Oh, okay," Josh said rather nervously. "It's a pleasure meeting you, Millie."

"You, too. And don't worry about what she's said. Holly was telling me about how great you've been helping her out lately, and all I've heard are good things."

"I...I see," Josh replied, not sure what else he should say.

"Are you alone?" the XO asked.

"Um...yes, ma'am. My roommate is coming to the 10pm...2200 show, but..."

"That's too late for me," she replied with a laugh.

Josh laughed, too, then told her, "Yes, ma'am. That used to be when things got started, but now it's bedtime."

The XO laughed understandingly then said, "You're welcome to sit with us."

Mille looked at Josh while she spoke to her friend.

"Holly, he's not gonna want to sit with two middle-aged women. If he's by himself, he'll at least have a chance of meeting someone tonight."

Holly laughed then said, "Good point," before Josh told her he wouldn't mind.

"I mean, if you don't mind," he quickly added.

"No. Of course not. Why would we mind?" the XO asked as though sitting with a subordinate in public was as normal as could be. Then again, Millie was with her, so maybe it wasn't such a big deal after all.

Josh let them choose the row then followed them until they sat down. Millie was between them, but before Josh could sit, she got up and said, "Here. You and Holly know each other, so I'll move to her other side so you two can talk."

'Holly' didn't bat an eye as her friend stepped around her and took a seat.

"This should be interesting," 'Holly' said to him about the show once he sat down, too.

"I agree, ma'am. I just don't want to be the guy up on stage flapping his arms and clucking like a chicken."

She laughed then assured him no hypnotist could get anyone to say or do anything against their will. She leaned a little closer then said, "Of course, if you've ever thought about actually being a chicken then who knows, right?"

Josh laughed a nervous laugh then said, "Yes, ma'am."

When she leaned over he could smell her perfume as well as the shampoo in her hair, and there was an immediate reaction to both just below the belt. Fortunately, the emcee came out shortly thereafter and asked for their attention.

After welcoming everyone, the man introduced their special guest for the evening who had been performing for three years doing magic and hypnotism in Virginia and the Carolinas.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming Ms...Elaine...COLLINS!"

As he was applauding, he felt 'Holly's' hand on his arm so he leaned her way.

"What if I'm the one up clucking like a chicken?" she asked so seriously it made him laugh.

"No worries, ma'am. I promise not to video anything you do or say."

She leaned closer as the applause died down then said, "Why doesn't that make me feel any better?" before laughing, too.

The act began with a series of magic tricks Josh had mostly seen, but they were all well done and drew healthy applause each time one of them ended—especially from the children in attendance. About an hour into the act, Ms. Collins informed the audience she was going to transition into the other part of his act and Josh heard some comments like, "Uh-oh," and "Oh, no!" that made him chuckle.

Things were going quite well until around 2130 or 9:30pm. She'd previously hypnotized the crowd knowing that people responded to hypnotic suggestion from what where called Levels 1-5. Those who were immune were the Level 1s and they sat there like nothing was going on. Holly was one of them.

It was just as easy to pick out the Level 5s by the way they responded completely to her suggestions, and she had several in mind to call up on stage with her. From then on, all she had to do was say, "Way down!" to one of them and that Level 5's head would flop down so fast it made everyone else laugh.

One of them soon found himself believing he was Michael Flatley, Lord of the Dance. The normally shy man was river-dancing his fool head off to some Irish music until Elaine said, "And...wake up!"

The man stopped in the middle of a move with one leg up in the air and looked around as everyone laughed.

"Any idea what's happening, sir?" she asked the bewildered man.

"No, but I'm sure my wife will tell me—and all of our friends—later on," he said, getting a roar of laughter.

Ms. Collins asked for another round of applause then sent him back to his seat.

Josh, Holly, and Millie all applauded as each of them was thoroughly enjoying the show. But that all changed when when Ms. Collins stepped off the stage and started walking down the aisle.

She was obviously looking for someone, and when she stopped and pointed at Josh, he said fairly loudly, "You gotta be kidding me."

Enough people heard him to draw more laughter just as Ms. Collins said, "You, sir. You have a very short haircut. Is it possible that might be a...Marine Corps haircut, and if so, is it safe to assume you are one of our nation's finest?"

He looked left then right, and Collins said, "Yes. You. In the leather jacket sitting next to the beautiful woman in black. Are you a Marine?"

"Go on!" LtCol Strader said, as she gave him a playful push.

"Gee, thanks...ma'am," he said before answering, "Yes, ma'am. I am."

"Ma'am? How old do you think I am?" she said before telling him to call her Elaine and getting a few more laughs.

He walked over to her and she said, "Folks? How about a round of applause for this brave young man?"

Everyone in the theater applauded as Collins asked his name.

"Josh. Okay, Josh," she said as she moved closer to him.

"You're a very handsome guy, if you don't mind me saying," Ms. Collins told him.

"Oh. Um...thank you," he said as she held the mic out so everyone could hear him.

"Okay, Josh. I have just two words for you."

He gave her a puzzled look, and Holly covered her mouth to hide her smile when the hypnotist said, "Way down."

Josh's head flopped down on command as Ms. Collins said, "Okay, Josh. Please look at me."

His head raised up, his eyes opened, and to everyone else, he looked wide awake.

"So how are you feeling?" she asked as she looked around, smiling and setting the stage.

"Good. I feel really good."

"So...nice and relaxed?"

"Yes. Very," Josh told her.

"Great. Okay, so before we get started, I have a couple of questions for you. Is that okay?"

"Sure."

The hypnotist led him back to his seat then told him to sit down.

She then looked at Holly then said to Josh, "So, Josh. Who is this beautiful woman to your right?"

"Holly," he replied, using her first name as though they were close friends.

"Holly. Okay. Is she your wife?"

Were he not hypnotized, Josh would have been extremely uncomfortable. But he was completely relaxed and said, "No. Not yet."

The crowd roared, and Holly covered her mouth in surprise, but she laughed, too.

"Not yet, huh? Okay. So...is she your girlfriend?"

"No, but I wish she was," Josh said, speaking with complete honesty.

The laughter rose again as everyone looked at Holly who was enjoying this as much as they were. The daughter soon died back down as everyone waited for the other to shoe to drop, and this line of questioning had them all on the edge of their seats. There were a few 'uh-ohs!' and other comments, but otherwise the crowd just listened.

Holly's reaction told Ms. Collins what she'd already suspected. It was definitely one of surprise, but it told her the woman wasn't offended at all, and more importantly that she was at least open to the possibility.

"I see," the hypnotist said as she looked around and raised and lowered her eyebrows several times real fast, the spotlight shining down on her and her 'victims'.

"So does she know that, Josh?"

"No," he told her very casually.

"Okay. So is there anything you'd like to say to her or maybe do to show her how you feel?" Ms. Collins asked.

"Yes."

"Is that okay, Holly?" she asked.

Millie answered for her as she said very loudly, "YES!" causing the crowd to start laughing.

"So Josh. Why don't you do that now?"

Without hesitation, Josh turned to the very attractive LtCol sitting next to him and said, "Holly? You're the most beautiful woman I've even known, and I've wanted to ask you out for quite some time now, and even more, I've been wanting to do this."